For only the third time since it began operating in 2008, the Large Hadron Collider (#LHC) is slowly being returned to room temperature after being kept at close to -271°C, just above absolute zero. Read more more: home.cern/science/long...
I can report an unfamiliar transparent liquid is currently falling from the skies in Cambridge.
Proper sense in a FT editorial. Come on PM. Easy wins right here.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2d agoTime for Andy Burnham to smile on UK science ft.trib.al/YaGOWfr | opinion
Excellent letters in the @theguardian.com calling out the cuts to research in STFC. Shout out to Paula Collins of @lhcb.bsky.social! www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
Science funding cuts will harm Britain’s global standing | Letters
Letters: Readers respond to an editorial about the threat to research funding, including plans to close the Jodrell Bank Observatory
theguardian.com
From the FT's editorial board: "Curiosity-driven research remains the wellspring from which wealth-creating technologies will emerge."
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2d agoTime for Andy Burnham to smile on UK science ft.trib.al/YaGOWfr | opinion
Are you ready to shape the future of physics with #AI? Frontiers is a new training programme for incoming and prospective Physics PhD students at the Cavendish Laboratory in 2026. Gain the skills to tackle tomorrow's biggest scientific challenges. Learn more: buff.ly/wVMRKRO
It could be worse. He could have called it the ‘spotted dick’ model. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted...
Spotted dick - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Katie Mack@astrokatie.com · 6d agoToday's copy edit dilemma: a plum pudding is, to a modern American reader, not a pudding. Also it does not contain plums. But if I tried to call it a fruitcake I would most assuredly be haunted by the ghost of J. J. Thomson.
I am all for saving Jodrell Bank, but please don’t lose sight of the fact that it is simply the most visible manifestation of a much bigger problem, which isn’t solved if someone magically finds the money to keep it going, simply to shut people up. 🔭🧪
A coalition of scientists and scientific community leaders including Prof Brian Cox and IOP President Prof Paul Howarth has voiced serious concern about the impact the latest funding cuts will have on UK science in this Research Professional article: www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
Jodrell Bank funding cut does ‘real damage’ to UK science - Research Professional News
Experts alarmed as science secretary says UK must invest in “next generation of scientific facilities”
researchprofessionalnews.com
Sadly it's not just #JodrellBank losing funding, with deep cuts across the board for UK astronomy. One example is the HiPERCAM project whose funding has been entirely cut to save £50K/yr - peanut-levels of £s. Spectacular fast transient science lost, for what? 🔭😡 www.zmescience.com/science/astr...
One of Astronomy’s Fastest Cameras May Stop Operating Over a $67,000 Funding Gap
The camera that checked JWST’s clock is losing its funding.
zmescience.com
These are some of the capabilities the UK risks losing with LHCb Upgrade II: • radiation-hard silicon • photon detectors • fast-timing sensors • electronics and computing • precision engineering Built over decades. Hard to replace once lost.
Very well said. It’s also a disaster for our international partners, for whom the knock-on effects are severe. Not to mention the damage to the UK’s reputation.
Lucien Heurtier@lucienheurtier.bsky.social · last wk.📢UKRI’s decision not to fund LHCb Upgrade II is not just a project cut. It puts UK leadership, access to the future LHCb dataset and opportunities for hundreds of scientists, engineers, technicians and students at risk. 🧪 ↩️This decision should be reversed. #UKRI #STFC @andyburnham.bsky.social
"A recent survey found that nearly 80% of early-career physicists were considering leaving the UK after the funding crisis. The loss of even a fraction of that would be a blow for UK science and also national growth. The task now is to persuade them to stay." www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
World-class Jodrell Bank is under threat and UK risks a physics brain drain
Funding crisis could lead to an exodus that would be a blow for British science and national growth
theguardian.com
Jeez, change the name of the STFC Exec and the Science Minister, double the £s and you could broadcast this more or less verbatim today.
Prof Jim Wild@jim-wild.bsky.social · 6mo agoGiven recent UKRI and STFC announcements, looking back at this 2008-vintage BBC Newsnight report about the crisis arising from the formation of STFC, it’s hard not to (a) feel a sense of Déjà vu and (b) that lasting lessons were not learned. youtu.be/Ot60dIdI1Ds?...
Earlier this year UKRI launched a funding call to invest £40M in ONE AI lab. www.ukri.org/opportunity/... For some unknown reason they decided to fund TWO AI labs at the cost of £60M. An extra £20M. Just found. That's the equivalent of 7 more years of Jodrell Bank. www.ukri.org/news/ukri-la...
UKRI launches two AI research labs to stay ahead in global race
Two new labs will back British researchers to develop next generation artificial intelligence (AI) systems, helping secure the UK’s position as a global leader.
ukri.org
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · last wk.I'm absolutely devastated for colleagues at Jodrell Bank who found out this morning that funding for the UK's e-MERLIN radio telescope array will be terminated. This is a short-sighted move, to save a tiny fraction of the overall UK science budget. #SaveJodrellBank 🔭🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Very well argued in a frustratingly short slot. Well worth a listen.
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · last wk.Just off #BBCR4 World at One, arguing the importance of discovery science (like Jodrell) for long-term economic growth. I said I was heartbroken at the news: evidence just look at how exceptionally excited me & @mamaphysikerin.bsky.social were when we got to stand inside Lovell back in 2017 🥰 🔭🧪
It is increasingly clear as the breadth of damage to UK particle physics and astronomy becomes clear, that UKRI’s choice to keep STFC’s budget flat in cash terms, amounts to a decision to allow fundamental research to wither away. It’s heartbreaking and hard to fathom.
I'm absolutely devastated for colleagues at Jodrell Bank who found out this morning that funding for the UK's e-MERLIN radio telescope array will be terminated. This is a short-sighted move, to save a tiny fraction of the overall UK science budget. #SaveJodrellBank 🔭🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands
Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.
bbc.co.uk
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 3w ago“What will the Lovell Telescope discover/enable 20 yrs from now? I can’t tell you, and that’s the point. It will either be something extraordinary that none of us can yet predict, or we will defund it and leave Cheshire with a rusting monument to unfulfilled potential and discoveries never made.” 🔭🧪
The full list of cuts is here (scroll to end). As @chionwurah.bsky.social said, these cuts shouldn't be happening. Add in cuts to the facilities and this is utterly grim for research. www.ukri.org/publications...
Explainer: STFC prioritisation outcomes 2026 to 2030
ukri.org
There’s a long list of long term hurt to core particle physics and astronomy projects in the STFC prioritisation outcome. Mostly small change compared to new money being thrown at Quantum and AI projects. www.ukri.org/publications...
Explainer: STFC prioritisation outcomes 2026 to 2030
ukri.org
It’s official: UKRI has defunded the LHCb upgrade, which would have run at the High Luminosity LHC (currently under construction). This is a disaster for UK physics. We’ve rightly invested heavily in the HL-LHC but without LHCb, we’re throwing away crucial science that can’t be done anywhere else.
The loss of the LHCb Upgrade would be a hammer blow to our prospects of finding new physics. This fantastic instrument will allow us to reach far beyond the energy of the LHC, probing unexplored territory that no other experiment will access for decades, at best, perhaps ever.
Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · 2w agoScience secretary urged to review withdrawal of Cern project funding. The new science secretary in Andy Burnham’s government has been urged to review a decision to cancel UK funding for upgrading a key Cern experiment. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...
I’m playing the Albert Hall! 🎶 Or more accurately, being interviewed on BBC Radio 3 during the interval of this afternoon’s Big Bang Prom. Tune in from 2pm for music from John Williams, Holst, a show by Horrible Science, and me nattering about @cern.bsky.social and particle physics.
Some important, and incredibly depressing news. @andyburnham.bsky.social 's new department has a real chance to make a difference here and roll back the damage being done to UK led science.
Science secretary urged to review withdrawal of Cern project funding - Research Professional News
Physicists appeal to Jonathan Reynolds after STFC rules out fresh funding for LHCb upgrade
researchprofessionalnews.com
Congratulations Jon!
Jon Butterworth@jonbutterworth.bsky.social · 2w agoI'm happy and honoured to say that I will be President Elect of the Institute of Physics from October this year. www.iop.org/about/news/2... It is a challenging, as well as exciting, time for physics right now, and the IOP is, and must remain, strong and clear voice for the whole community.
My lovely editor just told me that Waterstones selected my book for their Summer pre-order sale: 25% off! It's not out until Sept 10th, but if you know someone who might like it, the offer runs 21-24 July. Lots of other fab pop-sci books on offer too! #BookSky🔭 www.waterstones.com/book/how-to-...
Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 3w agoThe other half says this has real 1980's Jackanory vibes, which I'm not sure whether to take as a compliment or insult....🤔 Anyway, here is a clip from the Prologue of my new book "How to Design a Universe"! Out on Sept 10th. 🔗: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/how-to-de... 📺: www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Ek...
Andy Burnham joins Robert Peel, Gordon Brown and Liz Truss on a list of prime ministers whose surnames are also culinary imperatives
"Fundamental research should not be allowed to decline through attrition while public statements continue to suggest it is being protected." @jim-wild.bsky.social in @resprofnews.bsky.social today. Well worth a read. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Only long-term funding will save UK's fundamental science - Research Professional News
Jim Wild explains what the STFC settlement tells us about the future of fundamental research funding policy in the UK
researchprofessionalnews.com
Comment from SITC chair @chionwurah.bsky.social about the STFC funding cuts: "At a time of rising science spend and given the commitments made the committee regarding investment in curiosity driven research, these cuts shouldn’t be happening." committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
UKRI Chair and STFC Chair write to Committee outlining science research funding cuts - Committees - UK Parliament
Correspondence: research funding cuts
committees.parliament.uk
Note the pressures UKRI has claimed to be facing, particularly international subscriptions, have risen _slower_ than inflation over the period UKRI uses to determine the savings it must make. 100% of the pressure is coming from 'National laboratories and estates' which are growing 60% _after_ cuts